New Year’s Eve 2012: London welcomes 2013 with a bang

Fireworks light up the London skyline and Big Ben just after midnight. (Picture: Getty)

Hundreds of thousands of people have lined the banks of the River Thames for a spectacular New Year’s Eve fireworks display that heralded the start of 2013.

A vibrant show had an Olympic theme, with Lord Coe’s voice welcoming the world to London heard as the sky lit up from midnight.

Music from artists as diverse as Psy, Dizzee Rascal, One Direction and Queen filled the air for the next 10 minutes, interspersed with snippets of speeches from London’s Olympic year and the Queen’s diamond jubilee celebrations.

The traditional singing of Auld Lang Syne then took place as revellers who had braved the cold and earlier rain linked arms to celebrate the arrival of another year.

Crowds of people gather on Westminster Bridge to watch the New Year fireworks (Picture: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images)

London mayor Boris Johnson said the capital had ‘literally glimmered with excitement and enthusiasm’ during 2012.

‘A fantastic mood of community has percolated the entire population of our city and beyond,’ he said.

‘We are going to make sure we use the success of this year to deliver more jobs, more homes and more regeneration for London and build on that fantastic sense of togetherness and community to ensure a real volunteering legacy. It’s been a wonderful year, but believe me, 2013 is going to be every bit as exciting.’

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Crowds of people gather on Westminster Bridge to watch the New Year fireworks (Picture: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Crowds of people gather on Westminster Bridge to watch the New Year fireworks (Picture: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images)

London Celebrates New Year’s Eve

London welcomed in 2013 with a dazzling display of sound and light (Picture: Getty)

London welcomed in 2013 with a dazzling display of sound and light (Picture: Getty)

London Celebrates New Year’s Eve

Londoners braved the cold and drizzle to see in 2013 (Picture: Getty)

Londoners braved the cold and drizzle to see in 2013 (Picture: Getty)

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Crowds gather on The Embankment close to Big Ben and the London Eye in central London just before midnight (Picture: AFP PHOTO/ADRIAN DENNIS)

Crowds gather on The Embankment close to Big Ben and the London Eye in central London just before midnight (Picture: AFP PHOTO/ADRIAN DENNIS)

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Fireworks light up the Big Ben and the London Eye (Picture: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Fireworks light up the Big Ben and the London Eye (Picture: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images)

London Celebrates New Year’s Eve

Ten minutes of fireworks and music heralded the start of 2013 (Picture: Getty)

Ten minutes of fireworks and music heralded the start of 2013 (Picture: Getty)

London Celebrates New Year’s Eve

This year's celebrations had an Olympics theme (Picture: Getty)

This year's celebrations had an Olympics theme (Picture: Getty)

It’s that time of year again folks so get your glad rags on (Picture: File)

It's that time of year again folks so get your glad rags on (Picture: File)

It's that time of year again folks so get your glad rags on (Picture: File)

Fireworks light up the London Eye during the New Year celebrations

Fireworks light up the London Eye during the New Year celebrations (Picture: Getty)

Fireworks light up the London Eye during the New Year celebrations

London Celebrates New Year’s Eve

Fireworks light up the London Eye during the New Year celebrations (Picture: Getty)

Fireworks light up the London Eye during the New Year celebrations

London Celebrates New Year’s Eve

Fireworks light up the London Eye during the New Year celebrations

Fireworks light up the London Eye during the New Year celebrations

Fireworks light up the London Eye during the New Year celebrations (Picture: Getty)

Fireworks light up the London Eye during the New Year celebrations

Fireworks light up Big Ben and the London Eye during the New Year celebrations

Fireworks light up Big Ben and the London Eye during the New Year celebrations in central London just after midnight on January 1, 2013 (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

Fireworks light up Big Ben and the London Eye during the New Year celebrations in central London just after midnight on January 1, 2013. AFP PHOTO/ADRIAN DENNIS (Photo credit should read ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images)

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Fireworks light up Big Ben during the New Year celebrations in central London just after midnight on January 1, 2013. AFP PHOTO/ADRIAN DENNIS (Photo credit should read ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images)

London Celebrates New Year’s Eve

London celebrates New Year's Eve (Picture: Getty)

London Celebrates New Year's Eve

New Year celebrations

Fireworks explode over the London Eye, in central London, during the New Year celebrations. (Picture: Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Fireworks explode over the London Eye, in central London, during the New Year celebrations. (Picture: Dominic Lipinski/PA)

New Year celebrations

Fireworks explode over the London Eye, in central London, during the New Year celebrations. (Picture: Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Fireworks explode over the London Eye, in central London, during the New Year celebrations. (Picture: Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Central London was largely closed to traffic but free public transport was made available on buses, the Tube, trams and the Docklands Light Railway.

While the fireworks display was centred around the EDF Energy London Eye and the Royal Festival Hall on the South Bank, the Shard, near London Bridge, marked the new year with a specially designed lightning sequence.

Revellers play with sparklers ahead of bringing in the new year during the 2013 Edinburgh Hogmanay celebrations in Scotland. (Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire/Press Association Image)

Celebrations are being held worldwide to mark the new year, with a glittering firework display in Sydney, Australia, taking place earlier in the day.

Kylie Minogue was the guest of honour as more than 1.5million people watched the traditional fireworks show from Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Major events also took place in Auckland, New Zealand, while for the first time new year celebrations were held in Burma.

Large public gatherings were previously banned by the country’s repressive military rulers.

Birds scatter as fireworks see in the new year in Burma. (Picture: Ye Aung Thu/AFP/Getty Images)

Fireworks went off near the Shwe Da Gon pagoda at Kandawgyi Lake in Yangon, where some 50,000 people were expected to gather at the revered site.

Other cities held their celebrations as midnight struck, with Moscow’s main celebrations held with the Kremlin as its backdrop.

Earlier, 25 people were arrested by Russian police for trying to hold an unsanctioned protest in the capital.

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Fireworks explode in the sky above Sydney Harbour (AP)

Fireworks explode in the sky above Sydney Harbour (AP)

Indian youths make an installation to we

Indian youths make an installation to welcome the new year at the banks of the Brahmaputra river in Guwahati (AFP/Getty)

Indian youths make an installation to welcome the new year at the banks of the Brahmaputra river in Guwahati (AFP/Getty)

Fireworks explode over and around the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House during new year celebrations

Fireworks explode over and around the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House (Reuters)

Fireworks explode over and around the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House (Reuters)

New Year sculpture

A sculpture by Indian artist and dental hygienist Harwinder Singh Gill shows the words 2013 Happy New Year (EPA)

A sculpture by Indian artist and dental hygienist Harwinder Singh Gill shows the words 2013 Happy New Year (EPA)

Sydney Celebrates New Year’s Eve

Fireworks light up the sky from The Sydney Harbour Bridge at midnight (Getty)

Fireworks light up the sky from The Sydney Harbour Bridge at midnight (Getty)

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Fireworks explode in the sky above Sydney Harbour (AP)

Fireworks explode in the sky above Sydney Harbour (AP)

TOPSHOTSSpectator boats in Sydney Harbo

Spectator boats in Sydney Harbour (below) look on as New Year's Eve fireworks erupt over the Sydney Harbour Bridge (Getty)

Spectator boats in Sydney Harbour (below) look on as New Year's Eve fireworks erupt over the Sydney Harbour Bridge (Getty)

People look at the Tokyo Tower which is illuminated to celebrate the New Year at a countdown event in Tokyo

People look at the Tokyo Tower which is illuminated to celebrate the New Year at a countdown event in Tokyo (Reuters)

People look at the Tokyo Tower which is illuminated to celebrate the New Year at a countdown event in Tokyo (Reuters)

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Fireworks explode in front of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre over the Victoria Harbor (AP)

Fireworks explode in front of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre over the Victoria Harbor (AP)

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Fireworks explode over the Victoria Harbor to celebrate the 2013 New Year in Hong Kong (AP)

Fireworks explode over the Victoria Harbor to celebrate the 2013 New Year in Hong Kong (AP)

New Year’s Eve Is Celebrated Around The Globe

A Sri Lankan Buddhist devotee lights oil lamps at the Kelaniya Temple in Kelaniya on January 1, 2013. Many Sri Lankans marked the beginning of the 2013 New Year with religious ceremonies. (Picture:Ishara S.KODIKARA/AFP/Getty Images)

A Sri Lankan Buddhist devotee lights oil lamps at the Kelaniya Temple in Kelaniya on January 1, 2013. Many Sri Lankans marked the beginning of the 2013 New Year with religious ceremonies. (Picture:Ishara S.KODIKARA/AFP/Getty Images)

New Year celebrations

Fireworks go off over Edinburgh Castle as part of the new year 2013 Edinburgh Hogmanay celebrations in Scotland. (Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire)

Fireworks go off over Edinburgh Castle as part of the new year 2013 Edinburgh Hogmanay celebrations in Scotland. (Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire)

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Fireworks erupt over the Brandenburg Gate (Picture: JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images)

Fireworks erupt over the Brandenburg Gate (Picture: JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images)

Gathering Ireland 2013 parade

Members of the public line the streets of Dublin Ireland for the start of The Gathering Ireland 2013 - a year-long celebration of all things Irish, with the People's Procession of Light as part of the city's New Year's Eve Festival. (Picture: Liam McBurney/PA Wire)

Members of the public line the streets of Dublin Ireland for the start of The Gathering Ireland 2013 - a year-long celebration of all things Irish, with the People's Procession of Light as part of the city's New Year's Eve Festival. (Picture: Liam McBurney/PA Wire)

New Year’s Eve, Brandenburg Gate, Berlin

Revelers crowd the avenue in front of Berlin's Brandenburg gate (background) on December 31, 2012, as they wait to usher in the New Year (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

Berlin Celebrates New Year’s Eve 2013

The Gangnam flash mob was followed by a spectacular fireworks display (Picture: Getty)

New Year's Eve fireworks at Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, Germany

People gather at Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris to celebrate the New Year

People gather on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris to celebrate the New Year, late on December 31, 2012. AFP PHOTO / MIGUEL MEDINA (Photo credit should read MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images)

Revelers Celebrate The New Year In NYC’s Times Square

A couple see in 2013 together at Times Square, New York (Picture: Getty)

Olga and Michael Toerber of Chicago celebrate the new year as hundreds of thousands gather in Times Square on January 1, 2013 in New York City. Approximately one million people are expected to ring in the new year in Times Square. (Picture: Monika Graff/Getty Images)

Revelers Celebrate The New Year In NYC’s Times Square

New Year's Eve revellers celebrate at Times Square, New York (Picture: GettY)

People celebrate as the stroke of midnight rings in the new year as hundreds of thousands gather in Time Square for the annual New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square on January 1, 2013 in New York City. (Picture: Monika Graff/Getty Images)

In Edinburgh, Simple Minds headlined the Hogmanay concert in the Scottish capital, where fireworks heralded the new year above Edinburgh Castle.

An estimated 80,000 revellers gathered in the city, with a spectacular firework display from the castle ramparts at hourly intervals from 9pm.